


Grind to the Rhythm

by rayvanfox, TheOxfordEnglishFangeek (jadinacookie)



Series: The Mundanes [1]
Category: The Mundanes (Queer Urban Magic Universe)
Genre: Canon Queer Character, Canon Queer Character of Color, Canon Queer Relationship, Multi, Queer Urban Magic, Urban Fantasy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-31
Updated: 2016-01-31
Packaged: 2018-05-17 11:46:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5868082
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rayvanfox/pseuds/rayvanfox, https://archiveofourown.org/users/jadinacookie/pseuds/TheOxfordEnglishFangeek
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's party o'clock and, at Fox's invitation, Eliot and Rian are headed out for a night of dancing at a warehouse space where they find some enthralling company for the evening.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Inadvertent Psychic

**Author's Note:**

> This is The Mundanes Queer Urban Magic Universe, that [Boots](http://bootsnblossoms.tumblr.com) and [Jade (the-oxford-english-fangeek)](http://the-oxford-english-fangeek.tumblr.com) and [I](http://zooeyscigar.tumblr.com) \- along with lots of other folks - have accidentally created. It started out as some random text post, then it became an exercise, and then it snowballed into something else entirely.
> 
> [The origin story is here.](http://themundanes.tumblr.com/post/135794511674/ok-but-what-is-this-the-mundanes-thing-im) Make sure to check out the blog to read shorter stories, see faceclaims, and find inspiration: [The Mundanes](http://themundanes.tumblr.com).

Eliot was not really one for parties — she’d never had Cam’s way with people and as she’d gotten older, the combination of too much alcohol, too many people and shitty choices in music held less and less appeal.  A night away from her studies, however, was a more than welcome prospect.  Of course, it helped that Rian had been the one to pitch it to her — the man had an unfailing ability to talk her into things, and that was without him busting out the puppy eyes.  When he did that as well?  She was basically doomed.  So she had found herself getting dressed up, because if she was going to go to effort of going out, then she was going to look the part.  Or, at least that had been Rian’s argument as he’d rifled through her closet.

And she was more than happy to admit the two of them made a striking pair as they approached the warehouse space where the party was happening.  Rian had opted for silver eyeliner that night, a silk scarf wound around his neck providing his customary flash of purple to the ensemble.  For her part, Eliot had gotten Rian to rebuzz her undercut and curled the rest of her hair, and the draped top she was mostly wearing showed off the extensive ink that started above her hip and wrapped its way around her torso and up across her shoulders.  

“So you do know that if you abandon me at this thing, I am gonna hunt you down and break your legs afterwards right?” she said lightly, turning to look at him, the heavy bass notes from the sound system inside starting to lick at the edges of her senses as they reached the door.

“I’d expect nothing less El,” he replied, tone solemn even as a small smile tugged at his lips, the two of them having been friends long enough for him to know she was only mostly joking.  “And if you wanna bail just let me know and we’ll split.”  He looked at the building and his smile grew, hand going to rub the back of his neck.  “I’ve got a good feeling about this, though — I think even you might have a good time.”

Eliot snorted, but the smile she shot back at him was warm and she rose slightly onto her toes so she could press a kiss to his cheek.  “Then lay on, Macduff,” she said, hooking her arm round his so they could head inside.

The blast of music as the door opened was expected but it still took her a moment to adjust, the reassuring squeeze at her arm a welcome one as they worked their way through the cluster of people milling around by the door.  What she didn’t expect was the familiar face over by the drinks table, and her smile turned into an all out grin as she tugged Rian after her.  “You didn’t say Phee was gonna be here you asshole,” she said to him, ignoring the splutter of “I didn’t know,” as she let go of him in order to throw her arms around Phoenix.

“Oh my goddess, El!  Darling!  I should have expected you, but Fox is notoriously bad at publicity,” Phoenix said with a laugh as they held Eliot tight for a good minute.  “And is that Rian? Hello again!”

“Good to see you Phoenix,” Rian replied, having no qualms about wrapping himself around Eliot’s side in order to get an arm around Phoenix as well, kissing their cheek.  “How’s your crew? Planning on sending any more of them my way?”

“Fox still stares starry-eyed at the compass rose on their forearm,” Phoenix said, low voice teasing, playful.  “I think Quinn is jealous and will crack soon.  Help him come up with something he won’t regret in ten years, will you?”

“You got it,” he said with a laugh, pulling back to grab him and Eliot a drink.  “I mean, I ain’t had no complaints yet, not even from madame here.”  He went to poke Eliot’s side by way of emphasis, only for her to bat his hand away before he could get close.  “Cheater,” he muttered, the words almost lost beneath the music.

“Maybe you shouldn’t think about stuff before doing it if you don’t want me to know about it,” Eliot countered, finally detaching herself from Phoenix to smirk at him.  “And when do I complain about anything you do?”

“You really want me to answer that in public?” he countered, grinning as he poured a double measure of rum into a beaker and topped it off with lemonade, handing it to her with a flourish.

“That doesn’t count and you know it,” she said with a look, clearly attempting to smother a laugh.

The thought at the front of Phee’s mind was clear as day to Eliot, confirmed by the one inquisitive eyebrow raised impressively high:  _ Are you two fucking? _

The combination of her golden complexion teamed with the low lighting might have been enough to cover the faint blush that rose on Eliot’s cheeks, but it did nothing to stop the mouthful of drink she’d just taken from almost going down the wrong hole in surprise. Tragically, there was no avoiding the ensuing fit of spluttering.  Really, though, it shouldn’t have come as a shock — Phee was always horrifically perceptive,  _ especially _ when it came down to fucking.

“Phee asked if we were fucking,” she said to Rian, who had been doing his concerned face at her, and it was vaguely vindicating to see him almost lose his drink as well.  “You want to take this one or shall I?”

At that, Phee cocked their hip, placed a hand on it, and looked expectantly at Rian.  Even with the dapper clothing they were wearing, the masculinity that had been apparent moments ago dissipated, and it was suddenly clear how very mama-bear Phee could be.  “Ahem?”

Rian was not an easily flustered person, his confidence having been hard won over the years and everything that life had thrown at him.  Even he couldn’t help but falter under the scrutiny that Phoenix was giving him, though, his eyes widening a touch in panic, and Eliot felt a flash of guilt.  Not enough that it shifted the smirk from her face, but she did go as far to try and cover it with her drink for his benefit.

“Oh, um, sure, I guess,” he said, tugging at his scarf a little as he let out a nervous laugh in a pitch that approached his pre-testosterone days.  “Well, yes and also no, I mean, kinda?  I mean, it depends on how you define fucking I suppose...”

Phee rolled their eyes and was clearly about to lay into Rian about his evasive tactics, when a tiny, very blonde person bounced up, giggling exuberantly.  Phee reached out to contain the enthusiasm in a hug, but the beautifully appareled body — dressed in colors that shouldn’t have matched but somehow worked perfectly together — twisted out of their grasp and hopped up to Rian.

“Oh, Rian! How’d you make it here?  Avery and I were hoping, but...”  She gave him a once over and smiled even brighter, if that were possible.  “And you look  _ perfect. _ Phee, isn’t he gorgeous?”

Phoenix snorted in amusement and glanced at Eliot before nodding.  “Riley, honey, focus for a moment.  This is my friend Eliot.”  They had to almost forcibly turn Riley away from Rian to look at Eliot.

“Oh, hi!  I’ve heard about you from Fox, right?”  Riley held out a hand and gave Eliot a genuine, if slightly impatient smile.  “They just  _ love _ working for you folks.”

Biting back the urge to laugh at the look of sheer relief on Rian’s face at having gotten off the hook with Phee, Eliot took the offered hand.  She smiled back, pleasantly surprised to find it wasn’t actually vibrating - with the amount of energy coming off the blonde by all rights she could have been.  “Fox is a sweetheart, though technically they just work for my brother. Rosetta is his baby,” she explained, a stickler for detail even if it wasn’t warranted or needed.  “But we’re lucky to have them; the soup they made the other day was fucking amazing.”

“Right?  We’re so lucky to get that cooking a couple times a week.  Though,” Riley put her fists on her hips and pouted for a moment, “The volume at home has slacked off now that it’s their job.”

“Not El’s fault, Rile,” Phee reminded her gently.  After a moment, they relented and gave Riley the opening she clearly wanted.  “And it seems you’ve somehow already met El’s friend Rian?”

Riley literally bounced as she turned back to Rian, beaming.  “Yes! We’ve been meaning to visit you at your shop.  Or the cafe.  It’s so good to see you again.”  She stepped close and held out her hand to Rian coquettishly.  Phee rolled their eyes at Eliot.

Acutely aware of both Eliot and Phee watching him, nevertheless Rian caught hold of Riley’s hand, ducking down so he could kiss it.  “Good to see you too, Riley,” he said, flashing her a grin as he straightened up, his hand staying curled around hers a beat longer before letting it go.  “We crossed paths at Ethan’s pharmacy the other day,” he explained, on seeing Eliot's 'what haven't you been telling me?' face.  “Riley’s the one who sold me on the mauve lipstick.”

“Good advice, as always,” Phee said, admiring Rian’s makeup, then smiling at Riley like a fond parent.  “Riley’s got a gifted eye for both color and shape. I never go jeans shopping without her.”

“A gifted eye is right,” Eliot agreed, her attention flicking over to Riley and the riot of colors she was wearing, wrapped around her small frame like they’d been made for her.  “You look beautiful.  I’d congratulate you on the good job you did with Rian but he’s vain enough as it is — and don’t you even try to deny it Ri.”

Her fingers were pressed to his lips before he even had a chance to speak, and she could feel the pout forming beneath them, a teasing smile spreading across her face in response.

“Seriously Riley, don’t pay him too many compliments.  He already struggles to get through doorways with that hair of his, the last thing he needs is his ego to get bigger.”

“But he looks so—”

“How the  _ hell  _ did you do it, Rile?  Have you been taking conjuring lessons behind my back?”  A svelte, angular Asian person in a dress that looked painted on seemed to appear out of nowhere at Eliot’s elbow.  They crossed their arms and raised an expectant eyebrow at Rian.

“Wait, why am I getting the eyebrow?” Rian asked, pointedly ignoring the way Eliot was still smirking at him.  “Fox invited me, well, us. I mean, El took some convincing but there’s nothing untoward going on.”

“Fox!” The woman sounded shocked.  Or maybe dismissive.  “Who would have thought?” She turned to look at Eliot, then added, “Too bad they aren't here to follow up, make introductions...”

Eliot’s head tilted ever so slightly as she turned to meet the woman’s gaze face on, her expression curious.  “I’m Eliot,” she said, offering her hand.  “My brother Cam owns Rosetta; it’s how we know Fox.”  

“A pleasure to meet you.”  The hand that took hold of Eliot’s was long-fingered and well manicured, and it didn’t shake hers or let it go.  The touch was extremely gentle as a matter of fact, and Eliot made sure to match the light pressure so as to not do injury or offense.

“This is Avery,” Phoenix offered, since it seemed no one else would.  “She’s one of our little crew.”

“Avery,” Eliot echoed, her thumb absently brushing across the younger woman’s knuckles.  “The pleasure’s all mine.”  She might have said something more if it hadn’t been for the yelp that Rian let out, and letting go of Avery’s hand, she turned to give him a look.  “Problem Ri?”

Hand clamped to the back of his neck, Rian immediately shook his head.  It was only when Eliot caught the confused look on Riley’s face and the bemused expression on Phee’s that she realized that he hadn’t made the noise out loud.

“Well shit,” she muttered, face going hot and prompting her to down what remained of her drink.

“Everything looks fine and dandy to me,” Phoenix said brightly.  “Who wants to head to the dance floor?”

Riley started bouncing again as she looked at Rian with pleading eyes and outstretched hands.  “Please?”

Eliot knew Rian had never been great at resisting temptation, particularly when said temptation was looking up at him with eyes that would put Bambi to shame.  He clearly hadn’t forgotten his promise to her either, though.  As Rian took Riley’s offered hands, his eyes left her face to meet Eliot’s, and the question  _ You cool with this El?  _ was as clear as a bell in her ears.

“Yeah, let’s get out there,” she said, knowing that losing herself in the music for a while would be the best way to chase away the embarrassment still heating her cheeks.  “You better not spend the whole time with your new friends though; you owe me a dance.”

“You know I’m good for it, El,” he shot back, his smile soft for all the playfulness in his voice only for it to shift into a full grin as Riley began tugging him towards the crowd of bodies already moving to the music.

Eliot’s focus was pulled away from them by the not-so-subtle clearing of a throat, and there was Avery, hand offered lightly, waiting with an arch eyebrow to accompany Eliot to the dance floor.  “I’m not so bad at this myself, if you can stand dancing with someone other than Rian.  I’d be more than happy to make him jealous, if that's your thing...”

“Not particularly,” Eliot replied; even if she and Rian were an item, neither of them had any particular inclination towards monogamy, though it wasn’t surprising that they might give off that impression given how protective they were of each other.  That didn’t mean however that she couldn’t indulge in a little teasing, and the mischievous glint in her eyes as she curled her fingers around Avery’s spoke as loud as the smirk pulling at her lips.  “But as an excuse to dance with someone like yourself, I’d be hard pressed to think of a better one.”

“Thank goddess,” Avery said with a dramatic sigh.  “You would have been a fool to pass me up, and I didn’t peg you for a fool.”  She leaned in with a feral grin as she led Eliot through the crowd toward where Rian and Riley were already bouncing together.  “Let’s show them how it’s done, shall we?”

Her words rang with the slightest of echoes, thought and speech in almost perfect unison, just as they had when Avery had arrived and first spoken.  And Eliot found herself helpless to do anything other than grin back and let herself be led. To her credit, she did manage to twist around and give Phee a small wave goodbye before losing sight of them in the crowd, narrowly avoiding a stumble in the process and grateful for having opted for chunky boots that night rather than heels.

The boots might not have been the most elegant of choices: Ri for his part had rolled his eyes at her good-naturedly when she’d pulled them from her closet, but they helped her feel more grounded, rooted in herself and less likely to fall apart amongst the thousand different stimuli that inevitably flooded a party.  Avery’s touch at her hand, as light as it was, helped her as well. As the music grew louder the closer they got to the speakers, and the mass of moving bodies pressed tighter, Eliot was glad she didn't let go.

When they found a spot and began to dance, Avery's sly smile echoed her thoughts perfectly. “This is going to be good.”  

Eliot couldn’t agree more.


	2. The Middle Man

Rian wasn’t sure how long exactly he and Riley had been dancing, but it was enough that he had loosened his scarf and shed his outer shirt in an attempt to cool down, tucking it into the waistband of his jeans, leaving him in a tank top.  Which, judging by the appreciative glances he’d been getting, was a move approved of by more than one person in the crowd.  Even Avery had given him a once over when she’d caught sight of him, but given that it was Avery, it was kind of hard to tell if she approved or not.   


However long it had been, the music showed no signs of stopping, the duo playing up on the small stage apparently in possession of boundless energy as they flowed effortlessly from one song to the next and took the crowd with them.   

Of course, it didn’t hurt that he was dancing with Riley, who’s good mood was infectious. Rian was fairly certain she hadn’t stopped smiling since they’d hit the dance floor, her giggles accompanying the music as they moved together.  One rang out particularly loud as he turned her into a fast spin – possibly too fast given how she wobbled precariously — but he caught hold of her before she could fall, and she was grinning up at him when they stopped.

“Ohmygoddess,” she said breathlessly.  “Dizzy. And thirsty.”  She placed a hand on Rian’s chest, just over his heart.  “Mel and Beats won’t ever stop, so we just have to take a break whenever. I need water.”  One finger trailed down the front of Rian’s tank top until it almost reached the waistband of his jeans.  “You stay here.”

There hadn't exactly been a shortage of touching between them up until that point, but something about that particular motion coupled with the order to stay had Rian’s heartbeat kicking up a notch.  “Yes ma’am,” he said, voice a touch lower than usual as he grinned at her. “Don't stay away too long though, yeah?”

“Promise,” she said, with a twinkle in her eye.  And with that she twisted away and slid through the crowd, not toward the drinks table, but over to where Avery and Eliot were dancing. Avery must have seen her coming and shared some sort of communication with Riley in those few seconds, because she peeled off from Eliot in one fluid motion and followed Riley off the dance floor as if the moment had been pre-arranged somehow.

If he hadn’t been watching, Rian would have missed the disappointment that flickered across Eliot’s face on finding herself suddenly without her dance partner.  He couldn’t help from smiling though, the warm tickling sensation around his hairline nothing to do with the heat of the room and everything to do with the look on his friend’s face as she watched Avery and Riley leave the dance floor.

The look was gone quickly enough though and replaced by a smile as she turned and saw him looking at her.  Wasting no time, she made her way over to him, the music gifting her movements with an easy grace.  It wasn’t surprising that she earned a look or two of her own before she slipped into the space in front of him, her arms going up to wrap around his neck.

“Guess you’re collecting on that dance I owe you now you’re flying solo,” he said, thumbs sliding into the belt loops of her jeans and pulling Eliot closer as they began moving together.

“Like I wouldn’t have collected anyway,” she replied.  She made a hum of approval Rian felt more than heard as his hands curved around her hips and the two of them sank down a little before snaking back up to standing.  “You know you’re my favorite dance partner.”

Rian chuckled and ducked his head so he could speak right into Eliot’s ear.  “Well, true as that might be, I can’t help but notice how you’re dancing with that new friend of yours.  Something you want to share, El?”

Eliot let out a breathy kind of laugh, sending warm air across his collarbone, and he couldn’t help but grin against her hair in response.  “That good huh?” he asked.

“You know how she asked me to dance? Said that if I wasn’t against dancing with someone else that she’d be more than happy to help me make you jealous. Just like that, totally off the cuff.”

“Yeah, she shoots from the hip that one,” Rian replied, just able to make out Avery and Riley over by the drinks table in what looked to be a pretty deep conversation, the two of them frequently glancing their way.  It was a struggle not to wave back to them, and he couldn’t help wondering if he’d been that unsubtle at their age.  “Explains a couple of those moves you were busting out too, though I doubt that was entirely for my benefit...”

“Shut up,” she said good-naturedly, pulling back so she could look at him, and with their faces so close, there was no mistaking the flush in her cheeks.  “My life doesn’t entirely revolve around you, you know.  Besides, I’m not the only one having a good time.  I have no idea how that girl doesn’t have a crick in her neck from the way she’s been staring up at you all night.”

“How about  _ you _ shut up?” he shot back, purposely sliding one of his hands up to Eliot’s waist so he could poke her side causing her to let out a small shriek. Trying to twist away from the touch, she only succeeded in turning away before he tugged her against him with a laugh, her back pressed to his front and his arm slung low around her waist.

Rian looked up to see Avery stepping away from the drinks table with purpose, and Riley, wide-eyed, just barely managing to pull her back. Avery’s eyes narrowed at Rian, as if she were watching his every move while Riley talked animatedly to her, attempting to convince her of something.

_ Well isn’t that something _ Rian thought to himself, turning his head to hide his grin against the side of Eliot’s neck rather than exacerbate the situation by having Avery think he was laughing at her expense.  

Adapting to their change of position as easily as she always did, Eliot brought one of her hands to rest on top of his arm and the other tangled with his.  “What’s something?” she asked, raising both their arms above them as she dipped to the music and took him with her.    
  
“Your girl over there,” he clarified, glancing up to see Riley still holding onto Avery.  “She looks like she’s half an inch away from punching me.”   
  
“She’s not  _ my _ girl and you’re exaggerating,” Eliot countered, the confidence in her tone utterly ruined by the hitch in her breath. Rian smirked.     
  
“I’m really not,” he said, nudging at the underside of her jaw with his nose to encourage her to look in that direction.  “See for yourself.  Just try not to make it obvious you’re looking.”   
  
He swore he could feel her rolling her eyes at him but he also knew she wouldn’t be able to resist looking either, and he started turning them so she would be able to look through her lashes as they moved.  He knew the moment she saw what he had because the easy motion of her hips stuttered for a instant and her chin dropped to her chest.   
  
“I think it’s fair to say, that jealousy play she was going for has kinda backfired on her,” he said, trying and failing to keep the amusement from his voice even as his hold at Eliot’s waist tightened, as close as he could get to a hug in their current position.  It was the right call to make as, straight away, she leaned into the embrace, murmuring something he couldn’t quite catch over the music.   
  
“You alright there baby girl?” he asked, bringing their hands down so he could wrap that arm around her waist as well, making sure he was between her and Avery, though he was fairly certain he could still feel the heat of her glare at his back.   
  
“This just…this doesn’t happen to me Ri,” she explained, twisting her neck so he could hear her better.  “What do I even do here?”   
  
Rian laughed, tightening the hug for a moment and pressing a kiss to Eliot’s jaw.  “You enjoy it El,” he said, fond exasperation bleeding into his voice.  “Because I know you’re feeling something too, don’t even try and tell me otherwise.  And besides…”     
  
He lifted their still linked hands and placed her palm against the back of his neck.  “I’ve got a good feeling about it.”   
  
Not that she would have been able to feel what he felt, but the movement wasn’t lost on Eliot, and he could hear the smile in her voice as she replied with “A good feeling huh?”   
  
Her fingers flexed against him as she spoke, her nails catching against his stubble, and Rian hummed in contentment.    
  
“The best kind,” he assured her, giving her waist another gentle squeeze.  “Question is, do you  _ want _ to do something about it?”    
  
Eliot was quiet for a moment, setting them both moving again with a swivel of her hips that Rian realized was entirely so she could look over at Avery again.  “I really do,” she said, twisting so she could look up at him properly.   
  
“Well then…” he said, flashing her a grin.  “Given that Avery’s already looking at me like she’s mentally picking out a spot to bury my sorry ass, how about we go for broke, give her something to get really hot under the collar about?”   
  
“What did you have in mind?”    
  
“That move we picked up at the salsa class,” he posed, grinding his hips against her for emphasis and Eliot’s eyebrows rose in disbelief.    
  
“You mean the one you’ve categorically said I shouldn’t do unless I was planning to get laid afterwards – that move?”   
  
Rian nodded shamelessly.  “That’s the one.  If she isn’t on you in five minutes or less after seeing that then, well, her loss.”   
  
She let out a laugh and shook her head, slapping the arm he still had slung around her waist.  “You are such a little shit sometimes, you know that, right?”   
  
“Oh I know,” he replied, letting go of her hip to capture her other hand and pull it up to rest with it’s partner behind his neck as they swayed, the music shifting into something lower as if pre-empting what they were going to do.  “I’m not gonna force you to do anything here you don’t wanna do though, El.  I’m just…a facilitator.”   
  
Eliot laughed again, something deep and throaty that reminded him just why he loved her as much as he did, and he resisted the urge to kiss her.  He was all for poking the bear, as it were, but he was keenly aware of their audience and didn’t want Avery to actually claw his eyes out.  Besides which, there was also Riley to consider – the connection he had with her wasn’t as intense as the one between Eliot and Avery, not yet anyway, but that didn't mean it was something he was willing to risk losing.   
  
“I’ll remember that one next time you try to get out of helping me study,” she said, still laughing as she rocked her hips backwards.  “C’mon then, Mr Facilitator, let's dance.”

 


	3. The Light Touch

“Oh my goddess...”  Riley was whining, which really didn’t help matters at all.  Avery was already a bit raw from watching Rian and Eliot dance like lovers, and she didn’t have anything left for dealing with Riley.  “I’ll never have a chance with Rian when he’s got someone like Eliot.  Look at them!”

“I don’t want to.”  Avery turned away from the sight, which was getting somewhat obscene, and closed her half-empty water bottle over-tight.  She crunched the plastic in her hands for the satisfying sound.  It didn’t alleviate the pain in her chest, but it was close enough to breaking something that it helped her breathe.

Out of the corner of her eye she caught a dark head bobbing close by and nearly pounced on it.  “Fox!  Come here, right now!”

“What?” Fox asked, mouth half-full with a chip from the snack table.  “Hey, you duckies look great,” they said before noticing the storm on Avery’s brow and Riley’s tragic eyes.  “Oh. Everything okay?”

“No!” Riley wailed.  “Look!”  She flailed her arm towards the dance floor, where Eliot was doing something snakelike and entrancing with her hips.  Avery swallowed, her throat dry.

Fox followed Riley’s gesture, eyes still blank and searching.  “What?  Folks look like they’re having fu.... Oh, shit!  Rian and Eliot came!  Awesome!”  They made as if to head over to the couple to say hi.  Avery almost let them, just so the vertical sex on the dance floor would be put on hold.

Instead, she snagged Fox’s elbow and pulled them close.  “Why did you bring such beautiful people to this party if they were just going to...”  Avery’s hand fluttered around both their heads in frustration.

“Flaunt their unavailability!”  Riley finished with an impressive pout.

“Wait, wait.”  Fox turned to both of them with an avid gleam in their eyes.  “Are you two crushing on my co-workers?”

“Fox, I  _ told _ you we met Rian and I wanted an excuse to see him again.”  Riley batted at Fox’s arm ineffectually.

“And I told  _ you _ to come by Rosetta any time.  He’s always there, and his shop is next door.”

“Yeah, but you didn’t say anything about Eliot, you jerk.”  Avery elbowed Fox hard enough to make them wince.

“I  _ definitely _ said my co-workers were fucking awesome.  It’s not my fault you never listen to anything I say.”  Fox frowned petulantly at Avery.

“Why didn’t you mention they were  _ together? _ ”  Again, Riley was whining and it grated on Avery’s last nerve.  This night was going downhill  _ fast,  _ and fighting with Riley would be even worse than the frustration of having no chance with Eliot.

For the third time in as many minutes, Fox said, “What?”  This time, they actually looked super confused.  “Um... They’re  _ not. _ ”

“Bullshit,” Avery said reflexively, though a tiny thread of hope wove itself through the dark tangle in the pit of her stomach.

Fox shook their head, eyebrows high.  “Nope.  They have history, and are super close, might even stay over at each other’s houses sometimes,” they said it as if that didn’t mean fucking.  “But they aren’t  _ together. _  I mean, they’re certainly not  _ exclusive. _ ”  The last word sounded as if it left a bad taste on Fox’s lips.  Not surprising, coming from that little cuddle-slut.

Riley bounced over to Fox, eyes shining. “You sure, baby?”

“Absolutely.  Come on,” Fox said, exasperated, waving at the stupidly gorgeous scene on the dance floor.  “Do you really think they’d be dancing like that if it wasn’t to get the two of you hot?”  They looked meaningfully at Riley, then at Avery, then grabbed a bottle of water and sauntered off.

_ Well, shit. _  “Time to go break that lovefest up, then, huh?”  Avery said with a slow smile to Riley.

“Just what I was thinking,” she replied with a mischievous grin.

Moving as one, they sidled onto the dance floor and crept up on Rian and Eliot, who were in their own world dancing together, and the moment their bodies separated for a turn, Riley and Avery slipped in between them and danced them apart, claiming their dance partners once again.

Without even missing a beat, Eliot spun in a small circle around Avery, only to stop behind her and slide her hands across her hips.  “I was wondering when you’d be back,” she said, leaning forward to speak into Avery’s ear and sending curls tumbling over her shoulder in the process.  “I missed you.”

_ Oh fuck, yes.  Thank you, Fox.   _ Avery brushed her fingers over Eliot’s hands to encourage them to linger, and pressed back into the heat of Eliot’s body.  “No offense, but it was kinda hard to tell.  You and Rian...”   _ Are something else. _

Eliot hummed, her mouth close enough for Avery to almost feel the small vibrations, and she had to suppress a shiver, an urge not helped by the way Eliot was rocking her hips against her.  “None taken.  I know we can get a little...intense.  Gotta be honest though, we were kinda playing it up for the audience.”

Avery closed her eyes and sighed, letting the tight knot in her stomach unwind with the heat that had started to gather there.  “It was a sight to behold. You move like a goddess.”

The grip on her hips tightened for a moment accompanied by a sharp intake of breath and for a brief second Avery thought she’d said something wrong before one of Eliot’s hands slipped across her front to rest just above the warmth pooling low in her stomach.  “Thank you,” came the reply, shy in a way that didn’t seem to fit with the confident way Eliot moved on the dance floor, the way she effortlessly seemed to wrap herself around Avery’s smaller frame.

It was charming, but Avery wasn’t patient enough for shyness.  She stretched her neck back and rested her head on Eliot’s shoulder, then slid a hand up her own body until she could brush her fingers lightly against Eliot’s neck.  “Dance with me like that.”

Unlike her, Eliot made no attempt to stop the shiver that ran through her, the faint tremor rippling through her limbs and along Avery’s in turn.  “Gladly,” she said, pressing a light kiss to Avery’s wrist before slowly sliding her hands up the silky fabric of Avery’s dress, following the same path her own had, capturing its partner in the process.  Then Avery found her arms being held out to either side, Eliot’s fingers laced around her own and after a whisper of ‘just follow my lead’ in her ear, the two of them began sinking down to the floor.

Avery had no idea what she’d done to deserve this, but she thanked all that was holy and at least half of what was unholy for such a reward.  Eliot was strong and sure, her movements were sensuous and fluid, and Avery wasn’t sure how long she’d be able to stand being in public with her like this.  At some point she was going to have to drag her off to a private corner for some alone time.

Of course it would be the moment that that particular thought crossed her mind — just after Eliot did something with her hips that meant Avery was never going to be able to use a hula hoop again without having some  _ very _ inappropriate thoughts — that Eliot proceed to drop down behind her and swing around to Avery’s front.  Her hands were impossibly warm where they curled around Avery’s calves and when she looked down, it was to the sight of dark eyes and parted lips.  Then Eliot rolled up to standing in a move that managed to be both graceful and mildly obscene, and then she was the one looking down at Avery, hands resting against the small of her back.

_ Fuck.   _ Avery was too mesmerized to keep rhythm, apart from letting Eliot move her how she wanted.  There was only one thought in her head and it was getting louder by the second.  _ Kiss me.   _ “Eliot...”

Of course she had no way of knowing that Eliot could hear her as clear as day, though even if she had it wouldn’t have stopped her from wanting it to happen.  What she did know, however, was that a split second after she thought it, Eliot’s mouth was on hers and the rest of the world just...dropped away.  All that was left was the faint pounding of music swirling around them with the two of them at its centre.

Avery wrapped her arms around Eliot’s neck and kissed her for all she was worth.  Her skin was on fire and every sensation was heightened — it was like an electric current had switched on when their lips touched and Avery was afraid to lose the connection if the kiss ended.  The more they kissed, the hungrier Avery was for Eliot’s mouth, and she lost track of everything else in the need to never let her go.

The answering moan, caught as it was between their lips, only encouraged her further. Eliot’s hands slid down from her back, one to rest over the curve of her ass and the other to curl around the top of her thigh where her dress gave way to bare skin. She pulled the two of them even closer together, and Avery couldn’t help responding in kind.  

She also couldn't help grinding briefly against Eliot while licking into her mouth.  Fueled by a catch of breath and the squeeze of Eliot’s hands, Avery pulled her mouth away to nip at Eliot’s neck and brush her lips over Eliot’s earlobe.

Just as she was about to speak, Avery felt a nudge on her shoulder, and she looked around to see Riley giving her a  _ look. _  She’d pulled away from Rian to mouth, “Get a room,” then glanced around the dance floor at the handful of men that were actively trying to look uninterested all of a sudden.

A rush of heat flowed up Avery's neck, not so much from shame as indignation.  She didn't owe anyone anything, and if she wanted to kiss a girl in public, she had every right.  Never mind the fact that she'd just been about to suggest to Eliot that they find a private spot to sit.  Or stand — in a dark corner, up against a wall, she wasn't picky.

She jutted her chin out at Riley, mouthing back, “Shut up,” then turned back to Eliot with the question on the tip of her tongue.

She didn’t get a chance to ask it however, briefly catching a glimpse of just how blown Eliot’s pupils were, her eyes looking almost black (and Goddess, had her eyelashes always been that long?) before the view was lost as Eliot ducked forward to press a trail of kisses along her jaw.

“You got somewhere in mind?” came her murmur a moment later, voice heavy with promise and laced with an accent that Avery hadn’t noticed before.  She couldn’t place it exactly but it sounded Spanish and was hot as all hell.  The warm puff of air that accompanied her words made Avery shiver as it tickled across her skin and, apparently encouraged by it, Eliot slid a couple of fingers beneath the hem of her dress to stroke the back of her thigh.

_ Fuck.  If she didn't get laid tonight...  _  “Anywhere.”  Avery wracked her brains for an out of the way spot in this weird loft space.  “The front closet is actually kinda roomy...”

“Mmmmm, ” Eliot replied with what was almost a growl of approval as she ground their hips together.  “Sounds perfect.”

She pulled away then and it was a struggle for Avery not to let out a whine of protest, the points where Eliot had been touching her suddenly feeling unbearably cold.  Being able to see Eliot's face again was some consolation though, the heated gaze and kiss swollen lips sending a thrill right through her as Eliot caught hold of her hand and began tugging her from the dance floor.

Avery caught a glimpse of Riley’s shocked expression giving way to a proud look of approval, and the reality of what they were doing made her stomach flutter.  What a crazy stroke of luck — that the boy Riley had been crushing on was friends with such a gorgeous woman.  How rare and wonderful that, for once, everyone got what they wanted.

She put her finger to her lips and winked at Riley, then guided Eliot toward the big front closet, hoping no one else at the party had come up with her idea.

 


	4. The Coordinator

_ Holyshit.   _ Riley knew her jaw had dropped when Avery winked at her, but she couldn't help it.  Her best friend was the most blunt person she knew, but taking Eliot somewhere private after dancing with her for a total of three songs was a fucking bold move.  Riley looked back at Rian, eyes wide, and laughed nervously.  Would he be upset?  Offended?  Would he think she and Avery were always this forward?  What had gotten into Avery, anyway? 

The fact that he was chuckling, curls bobbing around his face as he shook his head, helped sooth a little of her nerves, if not all of them, and the arm he wound around her shoulders even more so.  “I knew they were hitting it off, but damn,” he said, ducking down so he could speak into her ear without yelling.

The heat of his breath on her sweaty neck sent a shiver down her spine, and she tried to play it off with a shrug.  “Avery doesn’t beat around the bush.  When she wants something, she usually gets it.”  She looked up into his eyes, and tilted her head toward the place in the crowd where the girls had disappeared, adding, “You okay with that?”

“Yeah, I think the straightforwardness is part of the attraction,” Rian replied, glancing towards where the girls had gone despite the lack of anything to see by that point.  His smile faltered a little at her question however, eyebrows furrowing as he looked back at her, head tilting to the side.  “Why wouldn’t I be?

Riley felt her neck flush hot, and trailed her fingers down Rian’s bare arm as a distraction.  She shouldn’t have brought this up, and now she was stuck answering.  “I... You and Eliot seem really close.  I dunno.”

His expression immediately smoothed out and she couldn’t help letting out a small sigh of relief, even if it did nothing to dispel the heat still lingering below her hairline.  Of course the easy way he was smiling at her wasn’t exactly helping the situation.

“El’s my girl for sure but she’s not  _ my _ girl, you get me?” he explained.  “Ain’t neither of us hardwired like that.”

Riley couldn’t help a happy little bounce in response.  Having Fox’s assertion confirmed made everything easier.  “Good.”  She dropped her gaze to the floor and quickly added, “For Avery, I mean.”

She wasn’t expecting the fingers that cupped under her jaw, gently lifting her chin until her eyes met Rian’s once again.

“Not just for Avery I hope,” he said, that same tilt to his head as before like he was looking for an answer somewhere on her face, his thumb brushing against her cheek as he spoke.

_ Oh.  _  Riley’s stomach churned with want.  She licked her lips and said, “No, but I didn’t want to... Fox isn’t always...”  She flapped her hands ineffectually and turned away from Rian.  It was a clumsy dance move, but she backed right up to him until she felt his chest, warm and solid, against her shoulders.  God, she was useless at this sort of thing.  Why had she even opened her mouth?  Time to just dance for a bit.

If Rian was surprised by the sudden, and less than graceful, change of position it didn’t show.  His hands quickly found hers again as they swayed together before bringing them down so that both his arms and hers were wrapped around her middle.  The new position also meant it was even easier for him to speak low in her ear, his hair brushing against her skin in a maddeningly light touch that she both wanted to wriggle away from and arch her neck to get more of.  It was, needless to say, very confusing.

“You know...” he said, lips stretching into a grin that she could hear as much as feel.  “You are totally adorable when you’re flustered. Like, I mean, at least ten different kinds of cute.”

“Oh.”  The response was surprised out of her.  She raised a shoulder up to hide her flushed cheeks, hoping he wouldn’t take it as a hint to pull away.  She tightened her grip on his hands to make sure.  Why did he feel so comforting, even as he made her so self-conscious?  “Thanks?”

His hold around her tightened and she was suddenly aware that one of his hands had slid up from hers enough to start rubbing a small circle against her side, the two of them not so much dancing as it was him hugging her to music on a very crowded dance floor.  “It was  _ meant _ to be a compliment,” he said, sounding apologetic.  “Cute as it is though, I don’t wanna be making you uncomfortable. You need me to back off or shut up, you tell me, yeah?”  

_ Oh goddess.   _ She was doing this all wrong.  If only Avery were here to do Riley’s flirting for her.  She took a big breath and on the exhale, she said, “Please don’t.  Like, don’t apologize.  And don’t go anywhere.  You’re perfect just like this.  I’m just...”   _ A mess.  Not used to this.  A little too smitten to function. _

She sighed again and turned around in his arms, half burying her face in his chest.  “Not good at boys.”

Rian didn’t reply for a moment, instead his arms tightened around her once more, and Riley felt what she could have sworn was him pressing a kiss to the top of her head before he rested a cheek against her hair.  “I never used to be, you know,” he said, the two of them starting to turn in a slow circle.  “No better with girls neither; took me years to get comfortable talking to people I liked.  Hell, even now if I really like someone it can all go to shit.  Ask El if you like, she can tell you what an ass I made outta myself when I was first getting to know her and Cam. More to the point though...”

He pulled back a little then, his arms still around her waist but enough that she had to look back up at him to find him smiling at her.  “You aren’t nearly as bad at this as you think you are, baby girl.”

A tiny pinprick of joy pierced the cloud of insecurity floating around Riley’s chest, and a smile flooded her face.  Her heart skipped as she looked up at Rian, eyes alight with hope.  She rested her hands on his collarbones, and was distracted by the curve of his lips.  His smile was just too pretty to stay away from.  “Really?”

She wouldn’t have thought it possible but Rian’s grin grew wider, the laughter lines around his eyes deepening, thrown into stark relief by the bright eyeliner he was wearing.  One of his hands left her waist and came up to cradle her face, his thumb brushing a feather light touch along her cheekbone as he leaned in further, bringing their foreheads close enough that they were almost touching.

“Really really.” Riley held her breath as her heart banged hard against her sternum, her stomach quivered, and she leaned in ever so slowly until her lips were a hair's breadth from Rian’s.  Her courage failed her then, and if it weren't for the dramatic change in Rian’s expression from amusement to stark hunger, she would have pulled away.  Instead she froze like a startled rabbit, a shock of hot, electric lust shooting through her.  This was too much, she should back off, she should — 

Then Rian’s lips pressed against hers and all thoughts of ‘should’ vanished, quickly replaced with ‘oh goddess’ and ‘holy shit his lips are even softer than they look how is that even  _ possible _ ’.  There might have been something else as well but then his teeth grazed over her bottom lip and Riley gave up on coherent thought all together.

She moaned into his mouth and stretched up onto her tiptoes to wrap her arms around his neck.  His arms around her tightened and their kiss deepened and she lost herself in it, dizzy with happiness. 

When they finally broke apart, Rian steadied her as she dropped back onto her heels, his hands feeling as warm through the fabric of her dress as his gaze did.  She was sure her cheeks were hot enough to match as the two of them grinned helplessly at each other.

“See, I told you you were good at this,” he said and Riley couldn’t help letting out a laugh, part relief, part giddy exhilaration before she pulled him down to kiss her again.  This time she felt bold enough to slide her fingers up into his hair, and then it was his turn to let out a moan, his fingers flexing uselessly at the small of her back, like he wanted to grab hold of something but wasn’t sure if he could.

“So are you, honey.”  She wanted him all over her body, his touch setting her alight, but there was at least one small part of her that was aware they were still in public.  Impatient, she pressed her body flush to his from her knees to her breasts, and worried for a moment that she didn’t feel a hard bulge against her hip.  She shrugged it off when he answered with a low, rumbling hum of approval. Stretching her neck to brush her lips against his jaw, she said, “Show me how good.”

Before Rian could respond, Riley pulled away from him and grabbed hold of his hands, tugging him off the dance floor.  She had no real destination in mind, simply to get away from the crush of other bodies when all she wanted was his.

Rian was tall enough that it made getting away from the crowd something of a mission with their hands linked as they were, but he didn’t seem any more inclined to let go of her than she did of him.  By the time they’d fought their way free and into a corner that, whilst hardly private was at least darker and little more secluded, Riley felt a brief pang of worry that the moment might have been lost.  Her grip on his hands faltered and she spun back to look at him.

The expression on his face, however, quickly dispelled the notion. The hunger still writ large across his features should have been at odds with the gentle way he walked her backwards until they bumped against the wall, but somehow wasn’t.  She could feel his pulse thrumming beneath her fingers and impulsively she pressed down.  She couldn’t have said what compelled her to do it, but when Rian’s eyes went wide and his hips stuttering forward, she knew she had to do it again.  This time she let her nails bite into the soft skin of his inner wrist and he let out an honest-to-goddess whine.

_ Oh. _  Well, wasn’t  _ that _ interesting.  She let him press himself against her, his weight pinning her to the wall, as she mulled over what this new development meant.  Then she tested her theory by tugging his hands behind his back while giving his bare shoulder a sharp nip.

The effect was immediate; a full body shudder accompanied by a whimper Rian barely managed to smother by biting down on his bottom lip, his whole body arching forward to press her harder against the bare concrete behind her. 

“Fuck, Riley,” he said, the muscles of his wrists flexing under her hands but making no attempt to free himself as he pulled back to look at her, pupils blown wide.  “You are not playing fair, baby girl.”

She practically squeaked, “I didn’t mean to, I just...”  She paused, entranced by how beautiful Rian was like this — lips parted and wet, pupils blown wide and dark, body taut and needy.   _ Fuck.   _ She was in over her head.  When at a loss, she defaulted to imitating Avery.  “Goddess... Kiss me, pretty boy.”

Rian murmured something she didn’t quite catch, and Riley was about to ask him to repeat himself but then he was doing exactly as he’d been told — pressing his body against hers as he licked into her mouth with a desperation that hadn’t been there before — and Riley was  _ thrilled. _

She could only hold onto his wrists for so long before she needed to bury her hands in his hair once again, reveling in the tiny gasps he’d make when she tugged lightly, and angling his face for optimal kissing.  He was so pliant it was silly — looming over her, yet putty in her hands — it made her giggle.  “Too tall,” she breathed into this mouth without thinking.

Almost instantly Rian’s balance seemed to falter and instinctively Riley’s grip tightened, trying to steady him. Of course, given where her hands were, all she succeeded in doing was pulling harder on his hair. He didn’t seemed mind, though, given the  _ ridiculously _ hot noise that rushed from his mouth and the way his hands flew up to rest on either side of her. She felt more than heard his short rush of profanities, recognizing the words and the way he went still against her as the battle for composure that it was.  Composed was the last thing Riley wanted from him in that moment though, and she let out a faint noise of protest, rocking her hips forward and tugging his bottom lip between her teeth in the hope of making him move again.

It was a plan that clearly worked as the next thing that happened was his hands slipping to the backs of her legs, and, before Riley could process what was happening, Rian had picked her up like she weighed nothing and had her pinned against the wall, high enough that he was now the one looking up.

“Ohmygoddess,” Riley gasped, legs wrapping around his waist as her tight skirt dug into her spread thighs.  Images of Rian fucking her up against the wall flashed through her mind and her already flushed face burned red hot.  To hide her embarrassment, she pressed her lips to his hairline and inhaled deeply.  He smelled of sweat and conditioner and something tantalizingly musky.  “Don’t you dare move.  Or drop me.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” he replied, tilting his head up and flashing her a smile before starting to kiss along her collarbone, his hands a reassuring warmth at her thighs.

_ Oh hell, not the neck.   _ She wanted to fuck him so badly, but this was  _ not _ the time.  She tightened her hands in his hair without actually restraining him, because honestly, the feel of his hot, plush lips was incredible on her sweat-cooled skin.

As was the way his hips occasionally rolled forward, too irregularly for it to have been conscious on his part, bringing with them a delicious friction that Riley was all too eager to rock back against.  She was dimly aware that the motion was causing her dress to ride up, but with how good everything felt, she couldn’t bring herself to care.  Especially not when Rian began gently sucking a bruise onto the side of her neck, ripping a sharp gasp from her throat in the process and sending her back into an arch that threatened to push them away from the wall and topple over.

Rian’s grip on her just tightened however, his legs spreading a little to keep them balanced and sending Riley sliding down the wall a couple of inches to press even harder against him.  Her dress had almost ridden up to the waist, except for where the fabric was caught beneath Rian’s hands.

For the love of the goddess, they were an inch away from fucking and Riley  _ had _ to dredge up a bit of care.  Common sense was hard to come by when she was this far gone, but if Phoenix or Fox caught them like this — or goddess forbid, Quinn, the little innocent — she would never live it down.  But  _ fuck, _ it was hot.  “Rian...”

The sweet pain on her neck where his mouth had been drew her fingers to it, nudging his head away.  She tugged on his hair to make him look at her, and she tried desperately to bring a stern aspect to her desire-ridden face.  “You’re _ too _ good at this.”

For all that the pull on his hair had him making another of those noises that were making it really fucking hard for Riley to focus on not just riding him then and there, the smirk he flashed her was pure cheek.

“You did tell me to show you,” he pointed out, sounding far too smug for someone who was clearly as turned on as she was.

The fact that she couldn’t have him right then and there caused a spark of anger, like flash paper, to flare and die in a moment.  But it was enough to quell the arousal so she could do what needed doing.  “Well, good job.  Now put me down.  I’m not fucking you here, like this.”

The grin sliding off his face and eyes dropping, Rian did as bid, taking half a step back and gently lowering her back to the floor.  His hands slid around to bracket her hips, stopping her from wobbling as her feet met the concrete beneath them before letting go entirely and taking another half step backwards.

“I wasn't trying to... I didn’t think that you...,” he began, a nervousness she hadn’t seen from him before flooding into his posture as he tried to stammer out what seemed to be an apology.

“No, baby,” Riley said, stricken by Rian’s change of demeanor and pushing forward into his arms to reassure him — to touch his face, his shoulder.  “I want you. I just can’t...” she waved at the wall he’d had her up against with a sheepish smile, then pressed her forehead against his chest.

“Oh.” His relief was palpable, and he sank into her embrace as much as the difference in height between him would allow.  Which, to be fair, wasn't much, but he made a good attempt of it, wrapping his arms around her and resting his chin on her head.  “Thought I'd crossed a line, pissed you off.  I'm not always great at reading signals when I get in the zone, you know?”

Riley huffed a laugh against his collarbone.  “Yeah.  It’s a damned good zone.  I’m just not into public sex, and that’s where this was headed if I let you...” She rubbed her hands up and down Rian’s sides, his hips, and couldn’t help resting them on the rise of his ass just below the small of his back.  “You feel so fucking  _ good. _ ”

“‘s not really my thing either,” he replied, shivering a little under her touch. “Though I gotta admit it's all kinds of flattering that we were heading that way.”  Then it was his turn to let out a laugh as her hands found his ass and this time she definitely felt the kiss he pressed to the top of her hair.

“Likewise,” he said, hands slipping down from her back to mirror hers.

_ Goddess,  _ she was so wet.  And now that she’d made them stop, she ached for his mouth on her again.  She wanted it so bad her mouth engaged before her brain did.  “So... Can we still be heading that way? ’Cause I’ve been thinking about you every night for a week now.”   _ Shit.  Possibly TMI. _

“Every night huh?” She couldn’t say for certain without looking up, but Riley was fairly certain she could  _ hear _ the way his eyebrows went up as he spoke, and her cheeks grew hot.  “Well damn, you do know how to make a guy feel good about himself.”  He lowered his head to press a featherlight kiss to the shell of her ear and she felt him smile.  “And in answer to your question, we can do whatever you like, you’re the boss here.”

Riley liked the sound of that — possibly more than she had any right to.  “Good,” she said, taking a deep breath to inhale his scent once again.  It made the ball of heat and lust in her stomach blossom and spread outward to her limbs.

She was about to grab hold of his hand and pull him toward the front door when she heard someone call her name.  “Riley, there you are!”

“What?”  Riley turned to see Avery with Eliot in tow.  The two of them looked a bit tousled, but Avery at least had on the most no-smudge lipstick to ever exist, so that wasn’t an indicator.

Avery raised a scathing eyebrow at her.  “We’re leaving.”

_ Nooo...  _ her insides screamed.  “Why?”

Sighing ungenerously, Avery fired off, “ _ Because _ Fox is driving us home now so they can drive back in time to load up the sound equipment when Mel and Beats are done.”  It was the original plan for the evening, but Riley had let it slip from her mind.  There had been more important things to focus on.

“Right.”   _ Shit. _  Taking a bus to the el to another bus at this time of night wasn’t an option, and who knew where Rian lived or if it was safe to go with him.  She  _ liked _ him, but they didn’t really  _ know  _ him, did they?

Riley turned to look at Rian with eyebrows up and a pout on her lips.  “I’m sorry, babe.”  Then, as much as it hurt to say it, she added, “I feel like a tease, but rain check?”

There was a faintly defeated slump to his shoulders and it wasn’t exactly an intuitive leap to figure out that he was as disappointed as she was at the two of them being interrupted, particularly given the sympathetic look Eliot was shooting them both.  Of all the ways he could have reacted, she really didn’t expect him to bring her hand up to kiss her knuckles, looking at her through his lashes.

“Rain check,” he said softly, voice low and full of promise.  

She couldn’t help it, she whined.  “Av, your timing is fucking shit,” she said without looking away from Rian’s beautiful face.  She tilted her face up to kiss his cheek, ignoring Avery’s loud snort, which was undoubtedly accompanied by an exaggerated eyeroll.  “Call me?”

“Gladly.”  He pulled his phone free from his pocket, an impressive achievement considering how tight his pants were, and handed it to her with a vague flourish.  Apparently that was Eliot’s cue to snort, prompting him to stick his tongue out her, a more than distracting visual that meant Riley mistyped her number twice before getting it right and saving it into his phone.

“Don’t you take too long to use that now, you hear me?” she said, attempting that stern look again with about as much success as she’d had before.  She held the phone back out to him, resisting the urge to slip it into one of his pockets herself.  Not that she thought he would object, but she really didn’t want to give Avery more ammunition for the ride home.  

Of course Rian had to ruin the plan by saying “Yes ma’am,” in that damned low voice as he took it back and pretty much all the blood in her body rushed to her face.  

Avery side-eyed them both, then kissed Eliot on the cheek and tapped her ass.  “Later, babe.”  Holding out her hand to Riley, she added, “Now, Rile, or Fox will leave without us.”

Riley scrunched up her nose and said to Rian, “They wouldn’t,” but Avery was already tugging her by the hand to get her moving.

To her delight, Rian actually followed after them for a few steps, his longer legs making it easy for him to catch up and, slipping his hand into her hair, he kissed her again.  It was hurried and lacking finesse and his teeth bumped against hers where they were trying to keep walking but it was  _ good.   _ It was also tragically short lived, him pulling away just scant seconds before Avery swatted at his arm with a hiss of “Begone excessively tall one.”

Looking utterly unrepentant — a ridiculously good look on him to go with all the others (and really, were there going to be any bad ones?) — Rian shrugged and offered Riley one last smile.  “Couldn’t not say goodbye properly could I?”

“I wouldn’t have allowed it,” Riley said, getting progressively louder as Avery pulled her farther away from Rian.  She blew him a kiss and waved, then, realizing how sickeningly sweet they were being — mostly because of the look on Eliot’s face — she turned away and walked out with Avery.

The moment they got outside, she stamped her foot and said, “Goddess dammit, Av.  I was  _ this _ close!”  Her finger and thumb were a centimeter apart, and about four inches from Avery’s nose.

“Not my fault,” Avery snapped back with a smirk.  “You should have used your time better, like I did.”

“You didn’t...” Riley gaped at Avery.

“I did.  We both did.”  Avery held the fingers of her left hand up to Riley’s nose.  Riley batted them away, not at all ready to know what Eliot smelled like.

“In the fucking closet.”  Riley shook her head in awe and disbelief.  No, she believed it — this was Avery after all, most fearless lesbian ever — but she couldn’t let go of her shock.  “Well?”

“You want details?”  Avery cocked one eyebrow high in challenge.  “Because I could give you details...”

“No.  Not while I’m so... frustrated still.”  Riley actually feared she’d come in the back of the car just hearing about what Avery and Eliot did, and that seemed wrong, somehow.

“Your loss.”  Avery inspected her nail polish, and not for the first time, Riley noticed how short the fingernails on her left hand were, compared to her right.

“Where is Fox, anyway?” she asked sullenly, looking for a distraction.

“Pulling around.  We parked over on Washtenaw, remember?”

“No.”  She shivered as the heat of Rian’s body and her own arousal slowly faded, leaving her feeling exposed.

They were quiet until Fox pulled up, grinning slyly, with Phee in the front seat and Quinn falling asleep in the back.  They got in the back seat, and their silence fell upon the whole car.  After a couple minutes, Avery murmured, not looking away from her window, “If you’re going to be impossible, you can sleep in your own bed tonight.”

Riley’s chest hurt.  “No, come on, Av.  I’ll calm down.  I’ll take a shower, it’ll be fine.”

“You can cuddle with me, Rile,” Fox called cheerfully from the front.  “I wanna hear the dirt.”

“They’re your coworkers,” Riley said with a scandalized laugh.

“Only El, technically.  Rian’s just a friend.”  Fox winked at her in the rearview mirror.

“You’re all impossible,” she said, a little breathless.  Something about Rian made her not ready to talk about him yet, which was odd given how much she’d already gabbed about how cute he was and how much she wanted to ‘get to know him’.

Phee’s voice, low tonight, cut through her thoughts, saying, “Wait until you know how you feel, duckling.  Take your time.  You don’t owe these two any information.”

“See?” Riley said, triumphant.  “Thank you, Phee.  Can I sleep in your bed tonight, then?”

“You’ll have to check with Jess,” Phee said mildly, making Riley blush.  Jess was hard to share a bed with because sometimes touch wasn’t on offer.  They had some understanding with Phee though, and Riley had never actually asked how it worked, so she hummed vaguely and kept her mouth shut.

After a minute of listening to Quinn’s quiet snoring, she said, “I might just take a hot bath and sleep alone tonight,” and she was rewarded with affirming hums from Phee and Fox, and an only half-hidden smirk from Avery.   _ That  _ sounded the most tempting, because then she wouldn’t be distracted from remembering the feel of Rian all over her.  If she couldn’t have the real thing, at least she had that.

And really, even if the evening had been cut short, she'd had an excessively good time. And she had a hunch the good feeling from tonight would last for a long while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come join in on The Mundanes universe at [themundanes.tumblr.com](http://themundanes.tumblr.com)  
> There are introductions to the world, headcanons, ficlets, and faceclaims on the blog.  
> You can also post fics in this universe here on AO3 and add them to  
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